The New York Times wrote a piece on Senator Gianaris and the Democrats' efforts to recapture the Senate majority.

Michael N. Gianaris, a Democratic state senator from Astoria, Queens, was in bed at 11:30 one night in January when a reporter called. Republicans were drafting new Senate districts to reflect the 2010 census, and word had leaked of what they had in store for Mr. Gianaris: his neighborhood would be appended to the district of a fellow Democratic senator.

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“One thing I’ve learned being in public service is that feathers must be ruffled if anything’s going to change,”

An editorial posted by Capital discusses the debate between Senate Republicans and Senate Democrates over the agreed-upon redistricting lines, which Senate Democrats have strongly criticized.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a redistricting deal that his fellow Democrats in the minority of the State Senate have been criticizing as "unfair," "unconstitutional" and the "worst" in the state's history.

But what led them to walk out of the Senate chambers last night, ostensibly, was a Republican move to change the agreed-upon time allowed to debate the bill from four hours to two.

Until the walkout, the debate had been substantive, if escalatingly hostile.

Politicker wrote an editorial about Professor Gerry Benjamin, expert on the mechanisms of government, and the C- grade he gave to the new Redistricting Amendment.

Professor Gerry Benjamin, an expert on the mechanisms of government at State University of New York at New Paltz, was asked by Citizens’ Committee for an Effective Constitution to take a look at Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature’s much-touted redistricting amendment and grade it point-by-point against what a truly independent amendment would look like.

Unsurprisingly, he found it wanting. He gave the amendment a ‘C-’ overall on an ‘A’ through ‘F’ scale.

This video shows Senator Gianaris voting against a bill that does not allow residents from power plant-heavy areas, such as western Queens, to become trustees of the New York Power Authorities Board of Trustees.

An article by The New York Times talks about the stop-and-frisk police tactic, which has garnered significant criticism from minority lawmakers and citizens. Senator Gianaris introduced legislation with Assemblymember Camara that would make it illegal for police departments to impose quotas for a certain number of stops officers make.

ALBANY — Black and Latino lawmakers, fed up over the frequency with which New York City police officers are stopping and frisking minority men, are battling what they say is a racial divide as they push legislation to rein in the practice.